Wild Magic
by Crispy Gecko-Chan
Summary: Eighteen-year-old Sakura has always had a knack with animals, but it's not until she leaves home that she realizes it's actually magic! Under the guidance of master Sasuke, Sakura explores her magic, and learns that not only mortals roam the earth. AU


**I've wanted to try this one out for a while now… Let me know what you think!**

**FULL SUMMARY: Eighteen-year-old Sakura has always had a knack with animals, but it's not until she's forced to leave home that she realizes it's more than just a knack; it's magic! With this wild magic, not only can Sakura speak to animals, but she can also make them obey her. Sakura takes a job handling horses for the Queen's Riders, where she meets the master mage Sasuke and becomes his student. Under Sasuke's guidance, Sakura explores the scope of her magic. But she begins to sense other beings too: immortals. These bloodthirsty monsters have been imprisoned in the Divine Realms for the past four hundred years, but now someone has broken the barrier. It's up to Sakura and company to defend their world from an immortal attack.**

**Disclaimer: Majority of the plot comes from Tamora Pierce, and her amazing Wild Magic series. The characters are from Masashi Kishimoto. Enjoy!**

**Wild Magic**

Each year, at the end of March, a great fair was held in Kyoto, the capital of Osaka. Like thousands of others in the Eastern Lands, Shizune went there to do business: buying ponies, in her case. This year she had another transaction to make and was having no luck with it so far. By the end of her fifth day at the fair, it seemed she would never find the assistant she required. The prospect of taking her animals south, with no one to help, was daunting.

"Excuse me, Mistress Shizune?" The speaker was a young woman, an extremely exotic one at that. "I heard you were hiring… I have a fair hand with all sorts of animals." She waited as Shizune looked her over: a girl in a red dress, leggings, and boots. Striking pink hair tamed by a ribbon fell to smooth shoulders. A soft, full mouth said she was vulnerable; her eyes were a remarkable jade. A quiver filled with long arrows hung on her back, a bow rested in her hand, unstrung.

"Is that yours?" Shizune asked, pointing. The jade eyes flashed. "I wouldn't have the nerve to carry it otherwise."

"Hmph. String it." The girl hesitated. "Just what I thought," Shizune jibed. "Whose is it, really?"

The girl brought a coiled string out of her sash. With ease, she fitted it to one end of the bow and set it against her foot. Raising the free end of the string, she brought the other end of the bow down, hooking them together neatly. The bow strung and in her grip, she turned sideways to it, caught the string in two fingers, and drew it back to her ear in a smooth, practiced gesture. Now Shizune could see she wore an archer's wrist- and armguards.

"I would put an arrow up," the girl said, gently releasing the string, "but I'd hit someone, surely."

Shizune smiled. "I'm impressed. I can't draw a bow that big." The girl took the string off the bow, coiled it, and put it away. "I couldn't either, at first."

"Crossbow?" The question was out before Shizune remembered, _I don't want to hire her; I want to send her back home where she belongs. Her family surely misses her._

"Yes, we have…" Something flickered in her viridian eyes and she looked down. "We _had_ bandits back home. I stood watch with the sheep, so I learned cross and longbow."

_We __had_, Shizune thought. _Did she change it because she wants me to think she's been away from home for a while? Or does she even have a home?_

Something looked around the girl, inspecting Shizune with a big brown eye. It was a shaggy mountain pony, a steel grey mare. She was plump and well combed, and bore two packs easily.

"Yours?" she asked. The girl nodded. "How much would you ask for her?" Shizune motioned to a pen filled with ponies at her back. "I'm in the market."

"I can't sell Kumo **(means Cloud in Japanese)**. She's the only family I have." Again, Shizune saw that flash of sorrow that was pushed aside.

"What's your name?" Shizune stuck her fingers into a pouch filled with powder know as 'eyebright'.

"It's Sakura, mistress," came the soft reply. "Sakura Haruno." The eyebright made her fingers itch when Shizune called on her magical Gift. "How old are you, Sakura?"

"Eighteen." It looked true enough, and there was no aura of red fire signaling a lie.

"Where are you from?" Shizune continued her questions.

"The Land of Snow, up north. About two weeks' walk." Again, no flare of red. She was telling the truth. Shizune sighed. "Are you a runaway? From home, or a bad master—"

"No, ma'am," The soft mouth trembled. "I have no home, or family. Just Kumo."

All was the truth; there was no red fire. Shizune dusted the powder from her hand.

"I'm Shizune, of the Land of Wind." Sakura shook her outstretched hand. "You say you're good with animals; come here." She led Sakura to her pen. Inside, twenty-seven shaggy ponies in all colors and sizes milled around.

"I buy horses. I had an assistant, but he got offered a better job working for a horse merchant here, and I wasn't about to stop him. If I hire you, you'll help me take these south. It's a three week drive, if we don't get bogged down in mud, if we aren't hit by raiders, and if we leave before all these people take the road to the next fair. It would just be you, me, and my pig Ton-Ton. Why don't you climb in and look them over? I'd like to see how you manage them."

Sakura glanced back at her mare, Kumo. "Stay here, and _no biting._" She ordered sternly, and climbed into the pen.

_Poor thing must have been alone for a long while, to be talking to a mare as though she could answer back,_ Shizune thought. She sat on the fence rail to watch.

The ponies watched as Sakura passed among them. Ears went back. Those close to her appeared to wonder which would do better: a kick or a bite.

When a yellow stallion, the king of the herd, minced into place at her back, the girl spun and put her hands under his muzzle, lifting his head to stare into his face. "Oh, no you don't," she told him firmly. "I won't stand for any tricks. I may be human, but I'm not stupid."

The stallion tried to rear. She forced him down, then blew gently into his nostrils, to teach him her scent. He shuffled, then bowed his head in submission.

_Horse Lords_, Shizune thought. _She's established domination over him and the entire herd!_

In years of managing horses, she'd never seen such a feat. This particular breed was famous for its fiery nature (one of the reasons she purchased them for her employers). She had achieved peace, of a sort, with them using her strength, her wits, and bribes. All horse folk handled their animals that way.

Only this young woman was different: Sakura treated the stallion as if she were a pony herself, a dominant one.

_She hasn't lied to me about anything… If I let her go, she could run into trouble. There are too many predators out there looking for a young pretty like this one. The road isn't too safe… but then again, what is?_

She watched the girl move among the ponies, running her hands over each one. She was giving them bits of apple and sugar from her pockets. Shizune was glad to see she _could_ deal with animals in a normal way. One display like that with the stallion was more than enough.

"Do you ride?" She called. Sakura came over to the fence. "Yes, mostly bareback. But I can use a saddle, and I know how to look after tack."

"What about fishing, hunting, tracking?" The grin lit a pretty face too full of sorrow and eyes that were too weary. "I do all of that. I had to, or else I wouldn't have come this far. I couldn't trust people on the road. Some looked like… bandits."

As Sakura climbed over the rail, the shadow was backing her eyes: grief, Shizune decided, but anger as well. "Tired of them already?" She asked. Sakura shook her head. "I'm going to get an oil I have, and a swab. The strawberry has ear mites. They're not too bad; if I get them now, they won't spread to the herd." She went over to the grey mare, who was plainly sulking, and opened one of her packs.

"How do you know you can trust me?" Shizune inquired. Sakura shrugged. "I don't. How do you know you can trust _me_?"

"Was that a joke?" Shizune's voice was stern but her eyes laughed. Her last two assistants had possessed no sense of humor. Sakura gave her a quick smile and climbed back into the pen, a clay bottle and swabs in one hand.

Shizune watched, amazed, as the strawberry gelding trotted up to the girl. If someone had said that morning that she'd see one of her charges willingly submit to an ear cleaning, she would have laughed herself sick.

She was so impressed by the girl, she couldn't resist hiring her on. Sakura would surely be an amazing assistant. Plus she could handle a bow. "Sakura!" she called.

The girl had finished the gelding's ears. She came over. "Yes?"

"I'll tell you right now; I've heard a lot of weird stories lately, about monsters in the wild, attacking travelers. Things out of legends, so they're saying. I haven't seen any myself, but that doesn't mean I won't. Are you sure you want to hire on?"

Sakura shrugged. "I hear the stories too. I need work, mistress. If I see monsters, I see monsters. My family was killed and my home burned by human ones."

"Alright right, then. Here's the job," said Shizune. "You, me, and my pig take the herd south, like I said. I have the Gift, and I can shield our camp at night. It's two coppers a say, two silver nobles as a bonus at the end. I pay all expenses, we share chores. No drinking, no drugs. If you leave me on the trail, you'll wish you had died as a child."

Sakura laughed. "At the end of the road…we'll see. We're bound for the capital of the Land of Fire—" The girl's face lit up. "Where a lady knight is the King's Champion, right? And they let women into the army? _That_ Fire Country?"

"So you've heard the stories too," Shizune murmured. "Well, they don't let women in the regular army, mind—just the Queen's Riders. Why, would you like to be a soldier?

Sakura shook her head. "Not me. But if they take girls for that, maybe they'll let a girl be a hostler, or work around the camp, or something." Her eyes were painfully hopeful.

"As it happens, they_ do_ let girls work as hostlers. Or at least, they let me. I'm in charge of the horses for the riders."

"Oh, Kami," the girl whispered. "I'll do whatever you want, if you hire me—" Shizune put a hand on Sakura's shoulder, touched by her eagerness. "We'll see. If we don't get along, I'll make sure you have some kind of work. I won't leave you stranded. Sound fair?" Sakura nodded vigorously. "Yes, Mistress Shizune."

Shizune offered a calloused hand. "Then shake on it. And stop calling me 'Mistress.' My name is Shizune." Sakura returned the woman's firm grip. "Shizune, of the Land of Wind. I remember."

Shizune smiled. "Very good. Now, will your Kumo mix in with the others?" Sakura removed packs and a saddle from Kumo's back. "No reason not to," Shizune nodded. "Stow your things with mine." She pointed to a canvas-covered mound in one corner.

"They'll be safe. These ponies are better than guard dogs." Sakura grinned and ushered Kumo into the pen. She stored her packs with Shizune's, finishing in time to stop Kumo from biting the yellow stallion, and then from kicking a blood bay mare. "You behave," she ordered her pony. "I mean it."

Kumo flicked an ear back, and lifted a hind foot experimentally. Sakura leaned down and whispered in her ear. The mare snorted, then stood on all fours, looking as innocent as a summer sky.

"What did you tell her?" Shizune asked, letting the girl out of the pen. "I said I'd sell her to the man that makes ramen down the way."

Shizune laughed. "That's the threat my mother used on _me._ Look, I want you to meet my pig, Ton-Ton." She whistled a high note. A chubby, pink form surged over the rear wall of the pen and wound through ponies, ducking hooves and teeth with the ease of long practice. Coming over the fence in another jump, Ton-Ton sat at Shizune's feet.

Sakura offered her hand to the pig, who sniffed her for a minute. With supposed approval, Ton-Ton snorted cutely and nuzzled Sakura's hand, making the girl giggle. Shizune grinned. "Don't let her fool you; she may look cute and cuddly, but she's a force to be reckoned with if you get on her bad side." After ordering Ton-Ton to stand guard on the ponies, Shizune steered Sakura away from the pen.

At one of the cook tents littering the fair grounds, Shizune ordered a rich meal for them both. When it was over, the explored. After a while, Sakura's eyes hurt from staring so much. Coming from a poor mountain village, she couldn't believe the variety they found at every turn.

"How are you fixed for gear?" her new employer asked. She was eyeing a pair of boots in a leatherwork stall. "I'm fine," Sakura assured her. Meeting Shizune's warning look, she insisted, "Really. It was too wet…" She swallowed thickly, trying to talk as if it were someone else's farm that had been attacked, "too wet for our place to burn much, so I saved a lot. Clothes, boots, my sleeping gear. I really don't need anything."

Seeing the woman's charcoal eyes remain suspicious, she raised a hand. "Swear by the Goddess." Shizune finally seemed appeased. "Alright, then. Just remember, it's my responsibility to keep you decently clothed and outfitted. I don't want to hear people saying I'm cheap."

Sakura thought about the huge meal she'd just consumed. "Just point them out to me, and I'll be sure to set them straight." Shizune smiled. "Good enough."

On their return, Shizune raised a sleeping platform outside the pen. "We'd better turn in," she advised. "We leave an hour before dawn."

Sakura laid the bedrolls out, wriggling into hers, and took off everything but her underclothes in the shelter of the blankets. "Shizune?"

The woman was nearly asleep already. "Yes?" Sakura closed her eyes with a smile. "Thanks."

* * *

><p>They had a cold breakfast: fruit, cheese, and bread. Shizune said little as they ate and packed. She split a pile of reins with Sakura, indicating she was to connect half of the ponies to a string, while she did the same with the others. They worked quickly as the fair came to life and the air filled with breakfast smells. When the ponies were ready, Shizune placed their packs on the first animal in each string.<p>

"Aren't you going to put her on a lead?" Shizune pointed to Kumo, who stood free of the others, wearing only a halter and a cross expression. The mare snorted and shook her head.

"She'll be fine," Sakura assured her. "She's as good as a guard dog that way."

"You know best," Shizune shrugged, dubious. "Let's move out."

The horse mistress led them away from the fair grounds and the traffic coming in. They had reached open road when she called for a mid-morning break. Digging apples out of her pocket, she gave one to Sakura. "_You_ eat this." She ordered. "I have more in a basket for the ponies. I should have warned you, by the way. I'm a bear in the morning; it's no use talking to me…I'll only bite your head off. You didn't take it personally, did you?

Sakura _had_ begun to wonder if she'd done something wrong. She smiled her relief. "It's alright. Okaa-san always says…" Her lips tightened. "Okaa-san always said there was no living with me until lunchtime.

"You miss her," Shizune said gently. Sakura twisted the stem off her apple. "Her, Grandpa, our farm…" Her face was grim. "Those bandits took my life. I saved _things_, like clothes and food, but the important ones were gone, except for Kumo. She wouldn't have even made it, but she was with me and we weren't there."

She suddenly jumped up. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—"

"Speak of it?" asked Shizune. Sakura nodded. "You have to, just to ease some of the pain of the memory." The girl just looked down. "Well, it doesn't have to be today." She peered at the sun. "We'll be at Coolspring by noon— a village, decently-sized. Let's pass that before we stop again."

If Shizune and Sakura were now well awake, so were their charges. They fussed at every turn. Luckily, many who passed them were traders who knew mountain ponies: they kept a respectful distance. Only Kumo, who seemed to realize she would go into a string the moment she misbehaved, walked meekly beside Sakura.

The only time she offered violence to a bystander was when they were too interested in how well the strings were tied together.

Sakura worked on the ponies one by one, talking, pleading, cajoling. She repeatedly explained why she wanted them to follow Shizune, _without_ making a fuss. One after another, the ponies listened as she appealed to their better natures. Some people would've said these creatures had no better nature, but (as Sakura told Shizune) she found most animals listened, if things were properly set out for them.

Shizune had explained things to ponies and horses for twenty-seven years without the success this eighteen-year-old was having. _How does she do it?_ Shizune wondered, fascinated. _They're_ ponies_, by all the gods. They're wonderfully clever animals, but they don't _think_, not the way people do._

Past the village of Coolspring lay a rest stop, one of the springs that gave the town its name, sheltered by elms. Picketing the animals, the two women sat down to share a meal of bread and cheese.

"Tell me if you get tired," the horse mistress ordered. "I can go for hours, once I get moving."

"I'm fine," Sakura replied. It was the truth. It felt good to be out in the fresh air, headed away from the city. "It's easier than it was coming all the way here. The roads were muddy, you know, with the spring floods."

Shizune nodded. "Have you ever been to Kyoto before?" Sakura shook her head. "I've never seen a village bigger than Snow until yesterday." She sighed. "How can people live like that, all mashed together?"

Shizune shrugged. "City people. They're just different. They look down their noses if you didn't grow up penned in." Getting to her feet, she stretched. "Unless something goes wrong, we'll make Wishing Hollow by dark. We'll camp there. We're making wonderful progress, thanks to you."

Sakura looked baffled. "Me?" Shizune nodded. "This is the fastest I've gotten clear of that fair in six years of trade. That's _your_ doing. You must have the Gift, though I've never heard of it being put to such use."

Sakura laughed. "Oh, please! I have a knack with animals, but no Gift. Okaa-san… she tried to teach me, but I never learned. I can't even start a fire, and Gifted _babies_ can do that. She was so disappointed. Wanted me to follow her path, I suppose…"

Shizune touched the girl's silky pink hair. "Your mother will be proud no matter what path you take, Sakura. I don't know you well, but anyone can see that."

Sakura smiled at her. "Thanks." They sat quietly for a few moments, until Shizune remembered something. "I saw you draw that bow of yours, but I don't know what kind of shot you are." Sakura grinned. "I'm good."

"Mind giving me a demonstration?" Sakura got up and took her long bow from her packs. "Name your target." The wood was warm from the sun and bent willingly for the string. She drew it back to her ear a few times, loosening her muscles.

Looking around, Shizune spotted a fence that would serve. It lay well within the range of such a powerful bow, but it wasn't so close that Sakura would feel insulted. Walking out to it, she fixed her handkerchief to a post with her belt-knife and returned. "How about three shots?"

"Fair enough." Sakura had already fitted one arrow to the string, and her quiver was on her back. Carefully, she set her feet, and gently brought the string back as she focused on her target. The arrow flew straight and true. Two more followed.

Shizune gasped. All three arrows clustered neatly at the center of the handkerchief. The heads were buried so deeply that she had to cut them loose.

"I take it this is another thing you have a 'knack' for," she said when Sakura came to help.

"Grandpa thought so," the girl shrugged. "It worked out for the best. His bones began aching, so badly he couldn't even string a bow, so I brought in all our game."

The yellow stallion screamed a challenge at a passing draft horse and reared, pawing the air. "For Kami's sake!" Sakura yelled, exasperated. "Can't a person take her eyes off of you for one moment without you acting up?"

She ran to the stallion's head and dragged him down to all fours, holding him until the draft horse walked calmly past. Shizune came to them, smiling. "Time to get back to work."

* * *

><p>Well before dark, Shizune led them out of sight of the road and into a grassy hollow sheltered by trees. It was plain other travelers stopped here: the fire pit was lined with stones, and a lean-to kept stacks of firewood dry.<p>

"I'll toss you to give the ponies a going-over," Shizune suggested. "For ticks, stones, whatever. Winner gets to dig the latrine and catch fish." Sakura considered. "I'd rather check the ponies…" Shizune grinned. "Wonderful; I feel like a bit of fishing just now."

Smiling, Sakura went to work. It made no sense to give the ponies a thorough grooming while they were still on the road, but she got the worst of the tangles and checked the animals' hooves. The strawberry's ear mites needed treatment again, and Kumo and Ton-Ton had picked up ticks in forays off the road.

The girl was finished when Shizune returned with two fat trout. "Think this'll feed us?" she asked, holding them up. "Even more so. I'm so tired, I couldn't eat more than a mouthful." Sakura saw Shizune's hair was wet and her face pink from scrubbing.

"It's safe to wash?" Shizune nodded. "If you make it fast."

"It's too cold to be slow," she hesitated. "Need my help with supper?" Shizune waved her away. "Ton-Ton will keep watch for you."

The water was_ extremely _cold. Sakura scrubbed quickly and jumped out, feeling a deep respect for Shizune's courage. Supper—fish and a pot of rice—was hot and filling. They ate without taking, but the silence was comfortable.

After the meal, Sakura washed up. The fire was banked; their beds lay on the ground, ready for slumber, when she finished. She got into hers with a sigh. It was warm, and the heavy padding underneath eased the day's aches.

As she watched, Shizune got several pouches out and secured them to her belt. "I told you I have the Gift, right? Well, I'm going to place the wards now… last call for the latrine."

Sakura yawned. "I'm set, thanks." She watched as Shizune drew a circle around the camp, ponies and all, first in salt, then in water. Soft chanting came from the woman as she walked the circle a third time, calling on her magical Gift to guard its contents. Red fire spilled from her hand to follow the circle and complete it.

"Okaa-san used to do that." Sakura commented sleepily when Shizune finished. "She wasn't very good at it, though," It was easier to speak of her mother when she was so tired. "Maybe she'd be alive now if she'd been better at it…"

"Or not," Shizune said, sliding into her bedroll. "There's always someone with stronger magic. Lots of raiders have their own witch or mage. That's why every Rider group has at least one member with the gift."

"Tell me about the Riders. I only know that they take girls. Aren't they like regular soldiers?"

"Not exactly. The fancy term is 'irregulars.' Konohagakure has a bad time with bandits, and the army is too big and too slow. Bandits hit and run. To fight them, you need to move the same way. The Queen, Hinata, started the Riders seven years back. The groups run six or eight Riders each, male and female, mounted on ponies. Right now there are six groups, posted all over Konohagakure. They live off the land, protecting the small villages from raiders."

"Who runs it?" Sakura inquired.

"Queen Hinata is commander in chief. Her guard, Tenten, handles day-to-day affairs, so she has the title 'Commander.' Hinata's cousin and Tenten's husband, Neji, comes just under them. The King's Champion you heard of, Anko, she helps out." Shizune looked over and saw the girl was fast asleep. Smiling, she pulled up her covers and closed her own eyes.

The badger crawled in with Sakura soon after that. Although he was so big, he didn't wake her: she was used to nighttime visitors. Without waking, she caressed the animal's head. He sighed gratefully and slept too, his muzzle pressed into her palm.

She did notice him when she woke later and was careful as she sat up. "I tell ye, I saw 'em. Two strings of ponies—gold on the hoof down in Konoha." The speaker's voice was rough and country bred.

Reaching for the crossbow beside her, Sakura saw that Shizune and Ton-Ton were also awake. Seeing her, Shizune put a finger to her lips. Sakura nodded, easing the bow into her lap. Inside her bed, her guest shifter nervously, quieting only when she rested a hand on his head.

"If ye saw 'em, then where'd they go?" Leaves rustled as men prowled the hollow around their campsite. "I'm no witch, to guess such things! It's like they vanished off the face of the world!"

"Shut up. They prob'ly found a farm, or kept movin'. Let's get back t' the rest." The new voice held authority; the others grumbled, but obeyed. They had been gone some minutes before Sakura relaxed enough to put down her weapon. Ton-Ton squealed softly, snuggling up to Shizune.

"It's alright," she whispered. "Nobody can hear us if we're quiet."

"That's some protection," Sakura breathed. "With Okaa-san's circles, you couldn't get in, but you knew it was there." The horse mistress grinned. "Now you know how I can take the road with just my assistant and Ton-Ton." She curled up in her blankets. "G'night."

The badger grumbled as Sakura settled in, and walked in her dreams.

"_It's about time I found you," he said. "Do you know how long I've been looking? I actually had to come to the Human Realms to get a scent of you!"_

"_I don't wish to seem rude," she apologized, "but why were you looking for me? I don't believe we've met…have we?"_

"_Not exactly…," he admitted with an embarrassed snort. "You see, I promised your father that I'd keep an eye on you. So I looked in on you when you were a kit, pink and noisy. Then when I looked for you again, you were gone. I forgot time passes differently in the Human Realms."_

_If she had been her waking self, his saying he knew her father would have made her unbearably excited. Now, however, her dream self asked (as if it weren't too important) "Have you met my father then?"_

"_Yes, yes, of course. Now, see here. I'm not coming to the Human Realms any more than I have to. If you're going to wander, we must be connected in some way." He looked at a paw and sighed. "I know it barely hurts and it grows back and all, but I still hate it. So messy." He began to chew and the base of one of his claws._

"_No, don't, please!" she protested. "I can't think—" The claw came off. He spat it into her lap. "There. Hang on to it no matter what. This way I won't lose track of time, and I'll be able to find you. Understand?"_

_She nodded, then gulped. A silvery mist gathered around his paw, and vanished. A new claw had appeared in the bed of the old one. "Now go back to sleep."_

Cold air on her feet woke Sakura in the morning. Her guest, working earlier to leave the bedroll, had pulled it apart entirely. She sat up with a yawn and a smile. To think she'd dreamt of a badger that knew her father…

Her hand was locked around something. A large animal's claw, or a semblance of one. Complete and perfect, it was made of shiny silver. "Goddess," she whispered.

"Sakura?" Shizune was dressed and cooking breakfast. "Let's go."

_No time to think about it now,_ she told herself, and scrambled out of her bedroll. _Because if I do, I won't know _what_ to think._

Later that day, she wove a thong to grip the base of the claw tightly, and hung it around her neck. Just because she wasn't entirely sure where it came from was no reason not to keep it close by—just in case.

**Well, what do you think? I absolutely love the Wild Magic series, and thought this would be a cool idea to try out. Forgive me if the beginning is a little slow, but I promise our favorite main character will be showing up next chapter. And thus, the romance will begin. ;)**

**Please leave a review with your thoughts! Till next time, Crispy.**


End file.
